 Director: Steve McQueen Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan Studio: Apple Studios Genre(s): Drama Rated: PG-13 (For thematic elements including some racism, violence, some strong language, brief sexuality and smoking) |
While there will likely forever be stories about World War II I don't believe all of them will need to be told. Or, at the very least, they don't need to be told THIS way! I'm not saying every WWII film needs to either be a complete tear-jerker, an action film, or (in the rare case) a comedy highlighting the absurdity of war, but I would prefer my war films evoke an emotion other than manipulation. Steve McQueen is a very gifted filmmaker. He may be one of the best directors working today, having directed the Best Picture winner "12 Years a Slave" and standing up to the MPA by refusing to edit his poignant "Shame" in order to avoid an NC-17 rating.
Yet he is a gifted enough director that I can't help but wonder why he would make a movie that is not only manipulative but is so OBVIOUS in its manipulation! "Blitz" is based on an attack campaign ordered by Adolf Hitler (though nothing else about the film seems to be based in reality), and it follows two storylines. One is about a young mother (Saoirse Ronan) who must send her son away to the countryside to protect him from the bombings. The son (named George and played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan) doesn't take kindly to being shipped out of his town and jumps off the train intending to walk back home.
Following this foolish decision, young George finds himself in one pickle after another, as he walks into troubles that are primarily of his own making. He does have an extra disadvantage as an interracial child, and the movie is keen to point out that while the war was hard on everyone, it was especially hard on a young boy who had a black parent. The topic is at the center of the film and somehow danced around at the same time (an odd choice, considering McQueen's own experiences as a black man). The film, perplexingly, never seems sure how much to lean into this sensitive topic, leaving it as more of a hanging thread than a true theme in the story.
His mother doesn't fare much better, as she seems to bounce around from working in the factory to volunteering at an underground shelter, to hanging out with a soldier who is as boring as mud. In George's defense, at least there ARE moments of emotion and tension with his arc (contrived though they may be)! Ronan practically looks like she is sleepwalking through "Blitz," occasionally shedding a tear when McQueen wants to provoke an emotion from the audience, but never becoming a character we can learn to understand as a human being. For McQueen, it seems like the fact that these characters are living through a war is enough of a reason for audiences to care about the stakes.
Audiences likely won't care though because there are no stakes. The movie was financed by Apple TV+ for their streaming service but has been given a limited run in theaters. I saw this on the big screen and walked away feeling the movie was as small as the TVs it was designed to be viewed on. It is contrived, manipulative in the worst ways, and (most disappointing) very boring. Steve McQueen has made great movies (and he will make great movies again), but "Blitz" is an awards play that gives award plays the bad reputation they have.
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